That chock-a-block cruise schedule, combined with 28 major conventions booked for Vancouver in 2023 and strong early bookings by leisure travellers has Destination Vancouver CEO Royce Chwin hopeful.
Before the pandemic, tourism officials estimated that Vancouver’s cruise sector accounted for about $2.2 billion of Metro Vancouver’s $15-billion-a-year tourism economy. Passenger statistics collected by YVR indicate a rebound of travel is getting close to pre-pandemic numbers. In January, the airport welcomed 1.8 million passengers, more than double the number in January 2022, and just 11 per cent less than their last pre-pandemic January, in 2020.Article content
For 2022, Chwin said it is helpful to Destination Vancouver that Time magazine named Vancouver as one of two Canadian destinations, along with Churchill, Manitoba, on its list of world’s greatest places to visit in 2023. The Vancouver Convention Centre measures its performance in the economic impact of delegate spending on hotels and other services. For fiscal 2022-23 ending this month, B.C. Pavilion Corp., the Crown corporation that runs the facility, estimated that impact will hit $410 million compared with $450 million to $550 million pre-pandemic.